Method for treating ophthalmic lenses

ABSTRACT

A method of treating an ophthalmic lens in a package involves: placing the lens and an aqueous solution in a recess of package, the solution including an organic surface treatment agent that attaches to anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens; and sealing the recess of the package with lidstock and sterilizing the package contents. The bottom of the recess includes raised projections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims benefit of provisional patent application No.61/012,855 filed on Dec. 11, 2007 which is incorporated by referenceherein.

This invention provides a method for treating ophthalmic lenses in itspackage with an organic surface treatment agent.

It is often desired to improve the surface characteristics of anophthalmic lens. For example, in the case of intraocular lenses, thesurfaces of the lenses may be rendered more biocompatible, for thepurpose of reducing or eliminating epithelial cell growth on the lens.Also, intraocular lenses are often placed in the eye with an intraocularlens inserter which has surfaces that contact the lens while it isextruded against these surfaces; the lens surfaces may be modified tobecome more lubricious so as to lower the coefficient of friction forcontacting the lens inserted. In the case of contact lenses, the lenssurfaces may be made more wettable by tear film or less resistant toprotein and/or lipid deposits from tear film, and more comfortableduring wear. With respect to silicon-containing lenses, the lenssurfaces have a higher tendency to be hydrophobic with lowerwettability, so often a surface treatment is desirable to increase thesurface wettability is desired. Various methods of changing the surfacecharacteristics of ophthalmic lenses are known that involve attaching atreatment agent to the lens surfaces.

A conventional manner of packaging ophthalmic lenses, especially contactlenses, is in a so-called blister package. Such packages include arecess designed to hold an individual lens, which is typically immersedin a saline packaging solution. The packages are then enclosed andsealed with lidstock, the lidstock conventionally being a metalliclaminate that can withstand post-packaging heat sterilizationconditions. The packaging solution may include various agents. As oneexample, because the lens material may tend to stick to itself and tothe lens package, packaging solutions for blister packages havesometimes been formulated to reduce or eliminate lens folding andsticking. For this reason, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been used incontact lens packaging solutions. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,366discloses contact lens packaging solutions comprising polyethylene oxide(PEO)/polypropylene oxide (PPO) block copolymers, especially poloxamersor poloxamines.

Various blister packages are known. Known blister packages includerecesses that are concave, recesses that are flat-bottomed, and recessesthat are partially concave with a flat bottom. One specific example is ablister package with a flat bottom having four parallel, longitudinalgrooves therein, which is used to package various contact lenses sold byBausch & Lomb Incorporated (Rochester, N.Y., USA). Other specificexamples may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,842,325; 5,722,536; 5,467,868;2004/0031701; 2004/0004008; 2002/0046958; 6,072,172; 5,143,660; and6,889,825.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides of a method of treating an ophthalmic lens in apackage, comprising: placing the lens and an aqueous solution in arecess of package, the solution comprising an organic surface treatmentagent that attaches to anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens; andsealing the recess of the package with lidstock and sterilizing thepackage contents; wherein a bottom of the recess includes raisedprojections.

This invention recognized that it may be desirable to effect attachmentof the treatment agent to the lens surfaces while the lens is containedin a package, for example, to reduce material handling steps and theaccompanying costs associated therewith. And if one employs a solution,containing the treatment agent, that is ophthalmically compatible, thissolution may serve as the final packaging solution, and the heatsterilization of the package and its contents can serve to effectchemical attachment of the treatment agent to the lens surfaces.

However, problems were encountered in that the surfaces of the lens werenot uniformly coated with the treatment agent, especially the lenssurface in contact with the recess bottom. These problems may beovercome by employing packages with recesses including raisedprojections on the bottoms thereof, to ensure better flow of thesolution around the lens surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a first embodiment of a lens blisterpackage suitable for the method of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the lens blister package of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the lens blister package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lens blister package of FIG. 1,taken along line B-B of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of a lens blisterpackage suitable for the method of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a third embodiment of a lens blisterpackage suitable for the method of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of the lens blister package of FIG. 6,taken along line C-C.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of a lens blisterpackage suitable for the method of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view of the lens blister package of FIG. 8,taken along line D-D.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This invention provides a method of treating an ophthalmic lens in apackage. The method comprises: placing the lens and an aqueous solutionin a recess of package, the solution comprising an organic surfacetreatment agent that attaches to anterior and posterior surfaces of thelens; and sealing the recess of the package with lidstock andsterilizing the package contents; wherein a bottom of the recessincludes raised projections.

The term “ophthalmic lens” means a lens intended for direct contact withophthalmic tissue, including contact lenses and intraocular lenses. Inthe following description, the process is discussed with particularreference to silicone hydrogel contact lenses, a preferred embodiment ofthis invention, but the invention may be employed for surface treatingother polymeric biomedical devices.

Hydrogels comprise a hydrated, crosslinked polymeric system containingwater in an equilibrium state. Accordingly, hydrogels are copolymersprepared from hydrophilic monomers. In the case of silicone hydrogels,the hydrogel copolymers are generally prepared by polymerizing a mixturecontaining at least one lens-forming silicone-containing monomer and atleast one lens-forming hydrophilic monomer. Either thesilicone-containing monomer or the hydrophilic monomer may function as acrosslinking agent (a crosslinking agent being defined as a monomerhaving multiple polymerizable functionalities), or alternately, aseparate crosslinking agent may be employed in the initial monomermixture from which the hydrogel copolymer is formed. (As used herein,the term “monomer” or “monomeric” and like terms denote relatively lowmolecular weight compounds that are polymerizable by free radicalpolymerization, as well as higher molecular weight compounds alsoreferred to as “prepolymers”, “macromonomers”, and related terms.)Silicone hydrogels typically have a water content between about 10 toabout 80 weight percent.

Examples of useful lens-forming hydrophilic monomers include: amidessuch as N,N-dimethylacrylamide and N,N-dimethylmethacrylamide; cycliclactams such as N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone; (meth)acrylated alcohols, such as2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate and glycerylmethacrylate; (meth)acrylated poly(ethylene glycol)s; (meth)acrylicacids such as methacrylic acid and acrylic acid; andazlactone-containing monomers, such as2-isopropenyl-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-5-one and2-vinyl-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-5-one. (As used herein, the term“(meth)” denotes an optional methyl substituent. Thus, terms such as“(meth)acrylate” denotes either methacrylate or acrylate, and“(meth)acrylic acid” denotes either methacrylic acid or acrylic acid.)Still further examples are the hydrophilic vinyl carbonate or vinylcarbamate monomers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,215, and thehydrophilic oxazolone monomers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,277, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Othersuitable hydrophilic monomers will be apparent to one skilled in theart.

Applicable silicone-containing monomeric materials for use in theformation of silicone hydrogels are well known in the art and numerousexamples are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,136,250; 4,153,641; 4,740,533;5,034,461; 5,070,215; 5,260,000; 5,310,779; and 5,358,995.

Examples of applicable silicone-containing monomers include bulkypolysiloxanylalkyl(meth)acrylic monomers. An example of suchmonofunctional, bulky polysiloxanylalkyl(meth)acrylic monomers arerepresented by the following Formula I:

wherein:

X denotes —O— or —NR—;

each R₁ independently denotes hydrogen or methyl;

each R₂ independently denotes a lower alkyl radical, phenyl radical or agroup represented by

wherein each R₂′ independently denotes a lower alkyl or phenyl radical;and h is 1 to 10. One preferred bulky monomer is 3-methacryloxypropyltris(trimethyl-siloxy)silane or tris(trimethylsiloxy)silylpropylmethacrylate, sometimes referred to as TRIS.

Another class of representative silicone-containing monomers includessilicone-containing vinyl carbonate or vinyl carbamate monomers such as:1,3-bis[4-vinyloxycarbonyloxy)but-1-yl]tetramethyldisiloxane;1,3-bis[4-vinyloxycarbonyloxy)but-1-yl]polydimethylsiloxane;3-(trimethylsilyl)propyl vinyl carbonate;3-(vinyloxycarbonylthio)propyl[tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane];3-[tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl]propyl vinyl carbamate;3-[tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl]propyl allyl carbamate;3-[tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl]propyl vinyl carbonate;t-butyldimethylsiloxyethyl vinyl carbonate; trimethylsilylethyl vinylcarbonate; and trimethylsilylmethyl vinyl carbonate.

An example of silicone-containing vinyl carbonate or vinyl carbamatemonomers are represented by Formula II:

wherein:

Y′ denotes —O—, —S— or —NH—;

R^(Si) denotes a silicone-containing organic radical;

R₃ denotes hydrogen or methyl;

d is 1, 2, 3 or 4; and q is 0 or 1.

Suitable silicone-containing organic radicals R^(Si) include thefollowing:

wherein:

R₄ denotes

wherein p′ is 1 to 6;

R₅ denotes an alkyl radical or a fluoroalkyl radical having 1 to 6carbon atoms;

e is 1 to 200; n′ is 1, 2, 3 or 4; and m′ is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

An example of a particular species within Formula II is represented byFormula III:

Another class of silicone-containing monomers includespolyurethane-polysiloxane macromonomers (also sometimes referred to asprepolymers), which may have hard-soft-hard blocks like traditionalurethane elastomers. Examples of silicone urethane monomers arerepresented by Formulae IV and V:

E(*D*A*D*G)a*D*A*D*E′; or   (IV)

E(*D*G*D*A)a*D*G*D*E′;   (V)

wherein:

D denotes an alkyl diradical, an alkyl cycloalkyl diradical, acycloalkyl diradical, an aryl diradical or an alkylaryl diradical having6 to 30 carbon atoms;

G denotes an alkyl diradical, a cycloalkyl diradical, an alkylcycloalkyl diradical, an aryl diradical or an alkylaryl diradical having1 to 40 carbon atoms and which may contain ether, thio or amine linkagesin the main chain;

* denotes a urethane or ureido linkage;

a is at least 1;

A denotes a divalent polymeric radical of Formula VI:

wherein:

each R_(s) independently denotes an alkyl or fluoro-substituted alkylgroup having 1 to 10 carbon atoms which may contain ether linkagesbetween carbon atoms;

m′ is at least 1; and

p is a number which provides a moiety weight of 400 to 10,000;

each of E and E′ independently denotes a polymerizable unsaturatedorganic radical represented by Formula VII:

wherein:

R₆ is hydrogen or methyl;

R₇ is hydrogen, an alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or a—CO—Y—R₉ radical wherein Y is —O—, —S— or —NH—;

R₈ is a divalent alkylene radical having 1 to 10 carbon atoms;

R₉ is a alkyl radical having 1 to 12 carbon atoms;

X denotes —CO— or —OCO—;

Z denotes —O— or —NH—;

Ar denotes an aromatic radical having 6 to 30 carbon atoms;

w is 0 to 6; x is 0 or 1; y is 0 or 1; and z is 0 or 1.

A more specific example of a silicone-containing urethane monomer isrepresented by Formula (VIII):

wherein m is at least 1 and is preferably 3 or 4, a is at least 1 andpreferably is 1, p is a number which provides a moiety weight of 400 to10,000 and is preferably at least 30, R₁₀ is a diradical of adiisocyanate after removal of the isocyanate group, such as thediradical of isophorone diisocyanate, and each E″ is a group representedby:

A preferred silicone hydrogel material comprises (based on the initialmonomer mixture that is copolymerized to form the hydrogel copolymericmaterial) 5 to 50 percent, preferably 10 to 25, by weight of one or moresilicone macromonomers, 5 to 75 percent, preferably 30 to 60 percent, byweight of one or more polysiloxanylalkyl (meth)acrylic monomers, and 10to 50 percent, preferably 20 to 40 percent, by weight of a hydrophilicmonomer. In general, the silicone macromonomer is a poly(organosiloxane)capped with an unsaturated group at two or more ends of the molecule. Inaddition to the end groups in the above structural formulas, U.S. Pat.No. 4,153,641 to Deichert et al. discloses additional unsaturatedgroups, including acryloxy or methacryloxy. Fumarate-containingmaterials such as those taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,512,205; 5,449,729;and 5,310,779 to Lai are also useful substrates in accordance with theinvention. Preferably, the silane macromonomer is a silicone-containingvinyl carbonate or vinyl carbamate or a polyurethane-polysiloxane havingone or more hard-soft-hard blocks and end-capped with a hydrophilicmonomer.

Specific examples of contact lens materials for which the presentinvention is useful are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,891,010 (Kunzler etal.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,906 (Kunzler et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,557(Kunzler et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,302 (Kunzler et al.); U.S. Pat.No. 5,708,094 (Lai et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,757 (Bambury et al.);U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,252 (Bambury et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,205 (Lai);U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,729 (Lai); U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,662 (Kunzler et al.);U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,779 (Lai); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,000 (Nandu etal.), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Generally, the monomer mixtures may be charged to a mold, and thensubjected to heat and/or light radiation, such as UV radiation, toeffect curing, or free radical polymerization, of the monomer mixture inthe mold. Various processes are known for curing a monomeric mixture inthe production of contact lenses or other biomedical devices, includingspincasting and static casting. Additionally, the monomer mixtures maybe cast in the shape of rods or buttons, which are then lathe cut into adesired shape, for example, into a lens-shaped article.

Following casting of the lens, the article may be extracted to removeundesired extractables from the device. For example, in the case ofcontact lenses made from a silicone hydrogel copolymer, extractablesinclude any remaining diluent, unreacted monomers, and oligomers formedfrom side reactions of the monomers.

Then, the lens is hydrated, either as part of the extraction process, orin a separate subsequent operation. For example, if an organic solventis used to extract the lens, then the lens is hydrated to replace theorganic solvent with water or aqueous solution. Hydration may beperformed while the lens is held in its package, or prior to placing thelens in the package. In any event, ultimately, the lens is contained inthe package with an aqueous packaging solution.

This invention recognized the desirability of effecting attachment ofthe treatment agent to the lens surfaces while the lens is contained ina package, in contrast to effecting attachment prior to placing the lensin the package. This offers a reduction in material handling steps andthe accompanying costs associated therewith. Also, if the solutioncontaining the treatment agent is ophthalmically compatible, thissolution may serve as the final packaging solution, and the heatsterilization of the package and its contents can serve to effectchemical attachment of the treatment agent to the lens surfaces.

As used herein, “attachment” of the treatment agent to the lens surface,and like terms, denotes that the treatment agent is substantiallyadhered to the lens surfaces. Thus, after a single rinsing with water ofthe lens surfaces with the treatment agent attached thereto, at least50% of the treatment agent will remain adhered to the lens surfaces.

It is preferred that the surface treatment agent is attached to the lenssurfaces by at least one of covalent bonding, ionic attachment, andhydrogen bonding. Covalent bonding denotes that a chemical reactionoccurs between the treatment agent and the lens surface, so thatcovalent bonds are formed therebetween. Ionic attachment denotes thatthe lens surfaces are ionically charged, and the organic surfacetreatment agent contains moieties with an opposite, ionic charge. As anexample the lens surfaces may be anionic charged, and the treatmentagent may be cationic or zwitterionic, that interacts with the anioniclens surface.

A wide variety of organic surface treatment agents may be employed,including treatment agents known in the art.

As a first example, this invention is applicable for the organic surfacetreatment agents described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,646, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Generally, thismethod involves surface modification of medical devices, particularlyophthalmic lenses, with one or more reactive, hydrophilic polymers asthe surface treatment agent. The reactive, hydrophilic polymers arecopolymers of at least one hydrophilic monomer and at least one monomerthat contains reactive chemical functionality. The hydrophilic monomerscan be aprotic types such as N,N-dimethylacrylamide andN-vinylpyrrolidone, or protic types such as methacrylic acid and2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The monomer containing reactive chemicalfunctionality can be an epoxide-containing monomer, such as glycidylmethacrylate. The hydrophilic monomer and the monomer containingreactive chemical functionality are copolymerized at a desired molarratio thereof. The hydrophilic monomer serves to render the resultantcopolymer hydrophilic. The monomer containing reactive chemicalfunctionality provides a reactive group that can react with the lenssurface. In other words, this resultant copolymer contains the reactivechemical functionality that can react with complementary functionalgroups at or near the lens surface, and form covalent bonds therewith.

As a second example, this invention is applicable for the organicsurface treatment agents described in US 2007/0122540, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Generally, thismethod involves surface modification of medical devices, particularlyophthalmic lenses, where reactive surfactants as the surface treatmentagent are covalently bound to the lens surfaces. Preferred reactivesurfactants are functionalized poloxamers or functionalized poloxamineshaving reactive functionality that is complimentary to surfacefunctionality of the ophthalmic lens. Representative functionalizedsurfactants are those containing epoxide, methacrylate, or isocyanatefunctionalities, such as represented below.

For the aforementioned methods where the surface treatment agent iscovalently bonded to the lens surface, the reactive groups of thetreatment agent are matched with the reactive groups on the lenssurface. For example, if the lens surfaces contain carboxylic acidgroups, a glycidyl group can be a reactive group of the surfacetreatment agent. If the lens surfaces contain hydroxy or aminofunctionality, an isocyanate group or carbonyl chloride group can be areactive group of the surface treatment agent. A wide variety ofsuitable combinations of reactive groups will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art.

Examples of suitable lens-forming monomers, providing reactive groups onthe lens surface, include those having hydroxy functional groups, suchas 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, glyceryl methacrylate and3-hydroxypropyl methacrylamide. Examples of suitable lens-formingmonomers providing the lens surfaces with carboxylic acid reactivegroups include methacrylic acid, acrylic acid andN-carboxy-β-alanine-N-vinyl ester. Examples of suitable lens-formingmonomers providing the lens surface with oxazolinone reactive groupsinclude 2-isopropenyl-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-5-one,2-vinyl-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-5-one,spiro-4′-(2′-isopropenyl-2′-oxazolin-5-one)cyclohexane,spiro-4′-(2′-vinyl-2′-oxazolin-5′-one)cyclohexane and2-(1-propenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-oxazolin-5-one. Examples of suitablelens-forming monomers providing the lens surface with anhydridefunctional groups include methacrylic anhydride, maleic anhydride andacrylic anhydride. An example of a suitable lens-forming monomerproviding the lens surfaces with epoxide reactive groups includesglycidyl methacrylate.

As another example, the surface treatment agent may be one as employedin the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,839 (Kunzler et al.), theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.Generally, this method employs poly(acrylic)acid (PAA) surfacecomplexation. Hydrogel contact lens copolymers containing polymerizedhydrophilic lens-forming monomers having relatively strong protondonating moieties, for example DMA or NVP, are treated with water-basedsolutions containing PAA or PAA co-polymers, acting as wetting agents,to render a lubricious, stable, highly wettable PAA-based surfacecoating. Alternately, other proton-donating wetting agents besidesPAA-containing agents may be employed, although generally, coatingmaterials containing carboxylic acid functionality are preferred.Surface treatment agents include poly(vinylpyrrolidinone(VP)-co-acrylicacid(AA)), poly(methylvinylether-alt-maleic acid), poly(acrylicacid-graft-ethyleneoxide), poly(AA-co-methacrylic acid),poly(acrylamide-co-AA), poly(AA-co-maleic), and poly(butadiene-maleicacid). Particularly preferred polymers are characterized by acidcontents of at least about 30 mole percent, preferably at least about 40mole percent. The lens, with its surface in contact with thePAA-containing solution, may be heated by autoclaving, or subjected tomicrowave radiation, to facilitate attachment of the PAA to the lenssurface.

Other organic surface treatment agents will be apparent to one skilledin the art.

There are various variations of the sequence of steps employed in themethods of this invention.

As a first example, after placing the lens and the solution containingthe treatment agent in the recess of the package, the recess is sealedwith the lidstock without removing the solution. In other words,according to this embodiment, this solution also serves as the finalpackaging solution, and this solution is ophthalmically compatible.Then, when the package contents are heat sterilized, this heat treatmentcan serve to effect chemical attachment of the treatment agent to thelens surfaces, if needed. Any excess treatment agent, not attached tothe lens surfaces, remains in the final packaging solution.

As a second example, after placing the lens and the solution containingthe treatment agent in the recess of the package, this solution isremoved with a portion of the organic treatment agent remaining attachedto the lens surface. Any excess treatment agent is removed with thesolution. If heat treatment is needed to effect chemical attachment ofthe treatment agent to the lens surfaces, the heat treatment isperformed prior to removing this solution from the package recess.Subsequently, after removing this solution, an aqueous packagingsolution is added to the recess, followed by sealing the recess withlidstock and sterilizing the package contents.

The final packaging solution is an aqueous solution, preferably a salinesolution. having a pH value within the range of about 6 to about 8, andpreferably about 6.5 to about 7.8. Suitable buffers may be included,such as: phosphate; borate; citrate; carbonate;tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS);bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-imino-tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminoalcohol (bis-tris);zwitterionic buffers such asN-[2-Hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]glycine (Tricine)andN-[2-Hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]glycine, MOPS;N-(Carbamoylmethyl)taurine (ACES); amino acids and amino acidderivatives; and mixtures thereof. Generally, buffers will be used inamounts ranging from about 0.05 to about 2.5 percent by weight, andpreferably from about 0.1 to about 1.5 percent by weight of thesolution. If needed, the solutions of the present invention may beadjusted with tonicity agents, to approximate the osmotic pressure ofnormal lacrimal fluids, which is equivalent to a 0.9 percent solution ofsodium chloride or 2.5 percent of glycerol solution. The solutions aremade substantially isotonic with physiological saline used alone or incombination, otherwise if simply blended with sterile water and madehypotonic or made hypertonic the lenses will lose their desirableoptical parameters. Correspondingly, excess saline may result in theformation of a hypertonic solution, which will cause stinging, and eyeirritation. Examples of suitable tonicity adjusting agents include, butare not limited to, sodium and potassium chloride, dextrose, calcium andmagnesium chloride and the like and mixtures thereof. These agents aretypically used individually in amounts ranging from about 0.01 to about2.5% w/v and preferably from about 0.2 to about 1.5% w/v. Preferably,the tonicity agent will be employed in an amount to provide a finalosmotic value of at least about 200 mOsm/kg, preferably from about 200to about 450 mOsm/kg, more preferably from about 250 to about 400mOsm/kg, and most preferably from about 280 to about 370 mOsm/kg.

Representative blister packages that may be employed in the method ofthis invention are illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a blister package. Package1 includes a substrate 3 including recess 2 formed therein, recess 2sized and configured to hold an individual contact lens 5 therein. Inthe illustrated embodiment, recess 2 is a concave recess with a flatbottom 6. Bottom 6 includes three parallel, longitudinal ridges 7thereon. Ridges 7 preferably have a height of at least 0.2 mm, morepreferably at least 0.4 mm. As seen in FIG. 4, the anterior surface ofcontact lens 5 rests on at least one of ridges 7 when the package isoriented as in FIG. 4. Without these ridges, the anterior lens surfacewould rest on flat bottom 6, which could lead to non-uniform coating ofthe contact lens, especially this anterior surface of the lens.

After contacting the contact lens with the treatment agent solution,contact lens 5 is contained in recess 2 and immersed in solution. Recess2 is then sealed with lidstock, i.e., by sealing the lidstock with heatto raised surface 9. The package and its contents may now be sterilized,preferably by heat sterilization such as autoclaving. Recess 2 has adepth greater than a height of the lens, and a sufficiently largevolume, that the lens is completely immersed in the final packagingsolution.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of a blister package. Package 11includes a substrate 13 including recess 12 formed therein. In thisillustrated embodiment, recess 12 has a somewhat oval-shaped flat bottom16, and the bottom includes four longitudinal ridges 17 thereon.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a blister package.Package 21 includes a substrate 23 including recess 22 formed therein.In this illustrated embodiment, recess 22 is a concave recess, i.e., arounded bowl shape. The bottom includes five parallel, longitudinalridges 27 thereon.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrates a fourth embodiment of a blister package.Package 31 includes a substrate 33 including recess 32 formed therein.In this illustrated embodiment, recess 32 is a concave recess, i.e., arounded bowl shape, with multiple raised, dot-like protrusions thereon.

Once the package recess contains the contact lens immersed in the finalpackaging solution, the recess is then sealed with lidstock, i.e., bysealing the lidstock with heat. As an example, the lidstock is sealed toraised surface 9 in FIGS. 1 to 4. The package and its contents may nowbe sterilized, preferably by heat sterilization such as autoclaving. Therecess has a depth greater than a height of the lens, and a sufficientlylarge volume, that the lens is completely immersed in the finalpackaging solution. Preferably, the recess is filed with at least 0.5 mlof final packaging solution, more preferably at least 1 ml, and mostpreferably at least 1.2 ml.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structuresand compositions and method steps of the present invention, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlyinginventive concept and that the same is not limited to particularstructures herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by thescope of the appended claims.

1. A method of treating an ophthalmic lens in a package, comprising:placing the lens and an aqueous solution in a recess of package, thesolution comprising an organic surface treatment agent that attaches toanterior and posterior surfaces of the lens; and sealing the recess ofthe package with lidstock and sterilizing the package contents; whereina bottom of the recess includes raised projections.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the surface treatment agent attaches to the lenssurfaces by at least one of covalent bonding, ionic attachment, andhydrogen bonding.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the surfacetreatment agent attaches to the lens surfaces by covalent bonding. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the lens surfaces are ionically charged,and the surface treatment agent has an opposite, ionic charge.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the package contents are sterilized byautoclaving, and autoclaving effects attachment of the surface treatmentagent to the lens surfaces.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein attachmentof the surface treatment agent is effected by heating the solution whilein contact with the lens surfaces in the recess.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the anterior surface of the lens contacts a portion of theraised projections.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the projectionshave a height of at least 0.2 mm.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theprojections have a height of at least 0.4 mm.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the recess has a depth greater than a height of the lens, and asufficient volume of solution is placed in the recess so that the lensis completely immersed in the solution.
 11. The method of claim 10,where the volume of the solution is at least 0.5 ml.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, where the volume of the solution is at least 1 ml.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the lens is a hydrogel contact lens.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the lens is a silicone hydrogel contact lens.15. The method of claim 1, wherein after placing the lens and thesolution in the recess of the package, the recess is sealed with thelidstock without removing the solution.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein after placing the lens and the solution in the recess of thepackage, the solution is removed with a portion of the surface treatmentagent remaining attached to the lens surface, and an aqueous packagingsolution is added to the recess prior to sealing the recess withlidstock.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the bottom includes severalparallel, longitudinal projections thereon.
 18. The method of claim 1,wherein the bottom includes several raised dot-like bumps.